Festive fundraising preparation! What we did with our DJS Volunteer Day...

28th November 2024 23:18

All Partners at DJS Research have the opportunity to take a volunteer day each year to support a charity of their choice. Taken individually or as a team, it’s a chance to give something back and provide tangible support to organisations and initiatives that we feel passionate about - while still getting paid!

In this article, Human Resources Manager Lucy Pawson shares what our HR and Finance team got up to on their volunteer day – unexpected bugs and all!

Written by Human Resources Manager Lucy Pawson.

It can be tricky deciding how best to use your annual volunteer day, but this year it felt like an obvious choice. Collectively, our team agreed we wanted to use our day to support our charity of the year, Blythe House Hospice. We contacted them to see whether they could use our help for a day, and their response was a resounding yes! We were told in advance the kinds of activities we would be asked to do so we came prepared – though perhaps not quite prepared for the number of bugs we were to encounter (more on that later!).

As soon as we arrived, we were put to good use. Rahat and Sarah helped with some crucial admin tasks for the many (many) fantastic Christmas fundraising events that Blythe House has planned. Jo and I got to put up a Christmas tree and decorate it with memory cards honouring the many people who have been supported by Blythe House Hospice; this really brought home the importance of this incredible charity and the real difference it makes to individuals and families affected by terminal illness.

Our final activity involved getting our hands satisfyingly dirty, helping to prepare for the forthcoming Christmas wreath-making events, which are a sellout every year. We had the task of ‘mossing’ the wreaths, which was definitely a new skill for all of us! Our team was joined by plenty of creepy crawlies, as worms (see the finger pointing photo below!) and bugs a plenty came out of their mossy hiding places while we worked; it was a wriggly but very rewarding task to get stuck into together.

Overall, our day at Blythe House was a brilliant way to spend time together, working as a team and knowing we were doing something positive to help contribute in some small way to the great work being done by an amazing charity felt so rewarding. I couldn’t recommend Blythe House Hospice enough as a place to volunteer; with events running throughout the year, they are always in need of additional support and their five hospice charity shops, across Bakewell, Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, New Mills, and Whaley Bridge, are always on the lookout for willing helpers too.

I’d encourage everyone at DJS Research (and any organisation for that matter) to make plans for their own volunteering day in 2025. If you do, like us, I’m sure you’ll be really glad you did.

And a little reminder: the lovely Rahat in our team will be joining others from DJS Research this weekend at the Jingle Bell Jog fundraiser in Buxton – all for Blythe House Hospice. If you’d like to support our team you can donate on their Just Giving page here.